Press photos try to represent reality as it really is and therefore to share a ” one-man story” that will eventually tell the story of a community. Lisa Krantz who is a staff photographer at the San Antonio Express-News is a press photographer. She describes her job as a way ” to educate and hopefully open readers’s eyes to the world in ways they may not have seen it before.” She recently took a photograph (http://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2015/portraits/raphaela-rosella) that I find really powerful.

This black-and-white portrait shows Amorie West , a 8-year-old girl , adjusting her gloves before a Halloween party at her housing complex in San Antino on October 31st , 2014. She is dressed as a middle class woman of the 20’s , which matches with the black-and-white , but creates an opposition with the background. In fact when Amorie is well-dressed her house and empty garden seem discordant.In my opinion this opposition make the photo gripping and thus powerful. Plus in common Halloween pictures or parties we see decorations ,pumpkins and children smiling but here it’s the opposite : no light , or happiness , or scary costumes. In my opinion Krantz by breaking up with this tradition and showing the girl in her daily environment made the picture powerful too because we see the conditions in which some people are living in so their reality and the truth that the photographer may wants to denounce. Moreover , this photo is powerful because of the subject Krantz chose ,who is a little girl.Because of their innocence and fragility people are always willing to fight for children and therefore the viewer is more affected and receives the message of the photographer more easily.

In addition the picture shows that despite our differences we belong to the same society and have some part of our different cultures in common. In this way, like everyone else , Amorie wants to wear a costume to celebrate Halloween. In this way why do we focus on our differences when there are so many similarities that can gather us together?

Lisa Krantz’s other works :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAkdHrx_UtM

If you’re familiar with the american history , you’ve probably seen or heard about this iconic picture on which we see John F.Kennedy jr saluting his father’s coffin along with the honor guard. The photo was taken by Stan Stearns who described it as the one so the most powerful picture taken that day. Indeed his photo was used on the cover of numerous newspapers around the country.http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/11/25/The-picture-of-the-funeral-JFK-Jr-salutes-his-fathers-casket/5681385394814/ph2/

On the picture , John john stands out of everyone with his white clothes (while most of the people are in black) to give a last goodbye to his father. He is therefore noteworthy. The little boy gesture was unexpected and unusual making it surprising , shocking and thus powerful. What I also find really powerful in this picture is that kennedy jr’s action may be at the same time innocent and immature (like a little boy trying to impersonate soldiers) but also significant, profound and  ” patriotic “.

I think americans were lost, destroyed and feeling powerless but this little boy paying tribute to his father along with soldiers saluting their commander may have reminded people that they all lost someone and that Kennedy was a president , a husband , and a father. It therefore generated a national consciousness and a duty of remembrance among the population.

My favorite genre of movie is , for sure  : Historical Period Drama movies . They take place in the past and show an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and characters. Here , I’m talking about : Braveheart , Troie , The First knight , Twelve years of slave , Spartacus ect.. In my opinion one of the main reason why directors are so interested in those movies is the duty of remembrance (to never forget what happened in the past). Money is another one. Indeed,doing an historical fiction with biographical elements (most of the time) after a political or social figure’s death is really money-making , especially when it is not a natural death.

I find these movies passionating , mostly because the main character has always something special. Plus showing the life of someone who ( most of the time) achieved his goals nurse the audience’s dreams of becoming ” someone ” . I remember the first time I watched a biographical movie who was based on the life of Christopher Wallace , a rapper who died , shot in in his car at 22 years old and that at the end they showed this quote : ” With his life he proved that no dream is too big. The sky is the limit ” . During the two months that followed that I literally ” believed in the quote “. The point is that we watch movies to entertain and to improve our mind , in my opinion those movies can definitely do both.

On the other hand directors try do to a spectacular movie and thus include for example great actors like : Mel Gibson( Braveheart) , Brad Pitt (Troie) , or Denzel Washington (Malcolm X) , and big sets , loosing sometimes some historical facts , and so their credibility , they’re not , thus , an historical reference.

Furthermore these movies tend to transform normal people ; political or social figures into heroes , guardian and even angels. It’s really unusual to see an historical fiction when the main character is not hero-worship. In order to do that they frequently build a path , or a journey ( similar to the The Hero’s journey by Joseph Campbell ) that the ” hero is going to follow ” and is common to most of the movies today but very specific to these movies. In fact : it always starts with an introduction that essentially presents the spatiotemporal structure and the main characters. In most of the movies I noticed that this part was made in a voice-over. In Braveheart for example , it is made by Robert the Bruse and in Malcom X‘s movie too they chose a voice-over that’s actually him , doing his speech.

Then we discover the character ( that usually belongs to a minority that may be rejected ) in his daily life , and especially his relationships with his family and the society : how he is different and how he reacts toward that. Afterwards we see that “one experience” which makes him understand what he has to stand for.

What follows is the twists and turns he will eventually get through to finally achieve his goal. The ” conclusion ” has usually a link with the introduction ( tell by the same person ) so that  : “every thing is rounded off ” . Finally , they usually end the movie with beautiful quotes or historical pictures to touch the audience.

What is also interesting is that some movies are based on particular historical moments/periods but involves fictional characters in order to represent the reality of this time without this subjectivity that a political figure known by everyone will inspire and so distorts the judgement( for example Holocaust by Gerald green) . They help the viewer understand this old-style society’s issues meanwhile following the fictional story of the main character. In my opinion that’s what Francis Ford Coppola did in the Godfather part II .Compare to the first one he showed more about Italian Americans immigration and the setting up of the italian mafia in the 20’s. What also caught my mind is that they did throughout the movie parallels between Michael Corleone’s life when he was in his 30’s versus his father since he was a child till he is in his 30’s as well ( so in the 20’s) ; making this movie , in my opinion historical too. We observe , through this narration , the evolution of immigrants ,their integration ; and at the same time how the new generation tend to be more american than italian , more liberal than conservative and how they have lost some values their parents had.

About the Godfather’s script.

Representation of italian americans in the Godfather

Thus these movies enlighten us about the way of thinking and seeing the world of people in the past. In this way Titanic , which is a romance but is also based on historical facts , beyond the love story , proposes a representation of a misogyny society,  this obsession of classes, and the impression of superiority and greatness in Europe in the 1900’s. Rose is there on the other side , criticizing and fighting against the middle class’s emptiness , the rules and values of her society ( marriage , inferiority of the women ect..) that are mainly patriarchal while Jack represents the proletariat (https://prezi.com/2yyatcwo7zrz/marxist-criticism-of-titanic/). This may be the most interesting aspect of this movie.

That’s why I am passionated about them too , not because of the historical events themselves or the main character’s life but because they select the most attractive and important facts so we can understand the History ; centuries ; societies, and therefore progress.

So that’s why I love Historical period drama movies : because of their purpose ( duty of remembrance ) , the film-making qualities , the narrative and the historical dimension.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_period_drama_films